What are You Reading?

I've spent a lot of time in bookstores over the last few months. Two of my kids take guitar lessons, and I have all this time to kill in town while I'm waiting... a bookstore seems like the friendliest place to hang out, especially for a reader like me. My only problem is choosing. So many good books to choose from...

My 12-year-old son just finished reading THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak. He couldn't stop crying.

When his class read NUMBER THE STARS by Lois Lowry earlier in the school year, he really enjoyed it quite a bit. I had read something online about THE BOOK THIEF, and how it broke so many rules of children's literature and yet still was fabulous. I went out and bought it for him to read next. He didn't want to.

He thought the cover looked boring. He thought the back flap sounded wierd. I read the first few pages out loud to him, and he poo-poohed it.

When he had nothing else left in his TBR pile on his nightstand (yes, my children have TBR piles) he grudgingly picked it up, but warned me that if he didn't like it he wasn't going to finish it.

He was completely engrossed. And couldn't stop crying when the last page was done.

The book now sits in my TBR pile. I've been anxiously waiting for him to finish so I could have a go, but after his strong reaction, I think I may need to wait for a lull in the "action" before I begin.

What else are we reading? I just finally finished HER FEARFUL SYMMETRY by Audrey Niffenegger yesterday while sitting on the bleachers at my other son's soccer practice. It's been sitting in my car as my "while-you-wait book" since I started it after Christmas. Usually I reach a point with those books where I just bring it inside and finish it one night. Never happened with this one. I loved-loved-loved THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, but this one never grabbed me. None of the characters are particularly redeeming. Although the language is beautiful, the story never took root in my psyche.

What are you reading? Suggest a book or two. I'm still waiting for Charlaine Harris's latest Sookie Stackhouse book to hit bookshelves (May 4th!! Mark calendar!!)

And what makes you buy one book instead of the one next to it on the shelf? Do you research your choices before hand or do you let the cover and jacket copy help you decide?

My son would never have chosen to read THE BOOK THIEF. And yet, it's now his favorite book of all time. At least for now. So many more books yet to read...